At approximately 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7, FDNY received a call about bricks falling from 235 East 42nd Street, a 37-story Midtown high-rise. Investigators found that two structural support columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors, causing floors between the 21st and 26th to sag — and the building continued to move after crews arrived. Metro Loft Management — led by developers David Werner and Nathan Berman — is converting the former global Pfizer headquarters into approximately 1,500 to 1,600 luxury rental apartments, the largest office-to-residential conversion in U.S. history. The city evacuated nine surrounding buildings — including a hotel and Kennedy International School, which cleared out about 400 students — and established a frozen zone from 40th to 45th Streets and First to Third Avenues. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the situation "extremely serious" and "extremely dangerous." No one was hurt; all construction workers got out safely.

1. Metro Loft Cut Corners on Steel (Cliff Johnson, Steamfitters Local 638)

The union says this wasn't an accident — the developer skimped on steel and used cheaper non-union labor to hit its margins.

"The I-beams are bending like cigarettes." Cliff Johnson, business agent for Steamfitters Local 638, walked the site and put it plainly: "They obviously didn't add the right amount of steel. So, the north side of that building is crumbling, the I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there." Johnson alleged Metro Loft used cheaper, non-union labor on the steel installation — a cost cut that left the structure short on reinforcement.

Seven violations in six months back up the pattern. The site racked up seven violations in the second half of 2025, totaling more than $32,000 in fines. Window glass fell from the 8th floor in July 2025. A metal panel fell from the 33rd floor in August 2025 — DOB fined the site $10,000 and issued a temporary stop-work order. A worker fell from a ladder in December 2025, and the contractor failed to notify DOB on time. In all, the site has accumulated at least 22 violations since 2020.

The site's own safety manager filed a complaint that morning. On July 7 — the same day the columns buckled — the site safety manager submitted a formal complaint about a compromised steel beam on the 21st floor. The alarm was in the system before the emergency was public.

2. But Metro Loft Says Safety Was Always the Priority (Metro Loft Management)

The developer says it's cooperating with investigators and the cause hasn't been formally determined.

Investigators haven't reached a conclusion yet. Metro Loft stated: "We are working closely with the Department of Buildings to understand the full scope of the situation. The safety of our workers and the public has always been, and remains, our top priority." The project has construction permits and went through required DOB plan review, including code changes for the office-to-residential conversion.

Every construction worker got out safely. FDNY deployed approximately 40 units and 130 Fire and EMS personnel and accounted for every worker on site — no injuries. DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tigani confirmed engineers were on scene using FDNY drone footage, and that the project had undergone the required plan review.

The structural cause is still undetermined. Fire Chief John Esposito said the building's design likely confines any collapse risk to the affected floors rather than the whole building — even though the building was still moving when he spoke. Before the incident, Metro Loft had secured a $700 million construction loan from Madison Realty Capital. That's a record for a residential conversion project.

Where This Lands

The union has specifics on its side: two falling-material incidents in 2025, a December worker injury, a same-morning complaint about a compromised 21st-floor beam from the site's own safety manager, and a union business agent on record saying Metro Loft used non-union labor and skimped on steel. Metro Loft hasn't addressed any of those specifics. The DOB investigation is ongoing.

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